Many household appliances such as water heaters and clothes or dishwashers are supplied directed through household plumbing and automatically control the amount of water they use. When these devices develop leaks, the result can be catastrophic.
This is particularly true for water heaters which typically use large continuously filled cylindrical tanks of 40-50 gallons or more. When those tanks fail flooding usually results.
Several devices and systems have been developed to avoid flooding by providing water-type catch pans which locally contain an amount of leaking water as shown in Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,224. These systems also employ electronic water detection devices which usually actuate an audible alarm indicating a leak before the water has had a chance to spill over the pan, or by regulating the inflow of water from household plumbing.
A disadvantage of pan-based containment is that during installation, the water heater must typically be lifted off the floor to allow the pan to be slipped underneath. The water heater must usually be drained completely to reduce its weight to allow lifting. This process wastes water and the energy to heat it in addition to the time of the installer.
A second disadvantage of previous systems is that the size and shape of the pan is substantially unalterable. Since water heaters and other appliances come in different sizes and shapes and are often installed in small spaces with restricted access, movement of the appliance may be restricted. Also, there may not be room enough for the pan. Existing features such as water or gas lines, walls or foundations may interfere with portions of a specifically shaped pan. Providing numerous different sized and shaped pans for every type of space would be economically impractical and nearly impossible.
Therefore, there is a need for an inexpensive, easily installed leak management and detection device which does not suffer from the above-disadvantages.